Olynyk is the only newcomer in that group, as the others are familiar faces. With those signings, the Heat now have 10 players from last year’s season-ending roster under contract for next season … and there could end up being even more players coming back.

The Miami Heat’s James Johnson and Goran Dragic, left, greet Dion Waiters (11) as they lead in the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. The Heat won, 108-101. (Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS)

Johnson re-signed with the Heat on a four-year deal worth $60 million that includes a player option in the fourth year, according to a source. The 30-year-old earned his big pay day after putting up career-best numbers with Miami last season, averaging career-highs in points (12.8), rebounds (4.9) and assists (3.6) in an important role off the bench.

“James Johnson epitomizes everything that the Miami Heat is about,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “He came in, made a promise to us and then fulfilled that promise by becoming a world class athlete thus leading to the best season he has had in the NBA. Today, he is being rewarded for the fulfillment of that promise. We will continue to push him to get him to an even higher level. His signing today, for me personally and the coaching staff, is one of our happiest signings.”

Waiters will also be back, as he agreed to return to the Heat on a four-year, $52 million contract that includes no player or team options. It marks the first big payday of the 25-year-old’s career, as he’s made $19.7 million over his five seasons in the NBA and made $2.9 million with the Heat last season. And Waiters earned it after averaging 15.8 points and 4.3 assists in a career-best year as Miami’s starting shooting guard.

“Dion Waiters proved to us last season that we have found one of the best two guards in the NBA and we are happy today to be able to sign Dion to a long-term contract,” Riley said in a statement. “We love his game and competitiveness. He is an attacker and an excellent three-point shooter as well as a defender. He is a player that has no fear in taking the last shot regardless of the outcome. We believe that continuity has shown to be one of the important things that we do by keeping a team together. Having Dion back in the fold is a big factor in keeping that team chemistry together.”

Olynyk will try to fit into that team chemistry, as he comes to the Heat on a four-year deal worth about $50 million after the Celtics were forced to renounce his rights and make him an unrestricted free agent to open cap space for Gordon Hayward. With Olynyk’s ability to stretch the floor as a 7-footer, he can be used as a power forward and center. The 26-year-old averaged 9.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 75 games for Boston last season.

“We let the upper office do that,” Johnson said when asked about the Heat’s decision to sign Olynyk. “The Miami Heat culture is not for everyone. We don’t fit everybody’s needs or their style of play. I’m sure when Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra talk about it, they’re all on the same page with things. They all have the same feelings that Kelly Olynyk is a Miami Heat guy. And that’s why they went after him. I’m just happy for him that he can find a home and let that home be the Miami Heat.”

As for Ellington, the Heat had until 11:59 p.m. Friday to make a decision on his future. In the end, they were able to fit him under the cap to avoid losing him. Ellington proved to be an effective weapon off Miami’s bench last season, averaging 10.5 points and shooting 37.8 percent from 3-point range in 62 games.

The Heat also announced Friday they traded big man Josh McRoberts to the Mavericks, a move that allows Miami to shed his $6 million salary for next season. In the trade, Miami receives second-year center A.J. Hammons from Dallas, while the Heat also sent a 2023 second-round pick and cash considerations to Dallas.

Hammons, who appeared in 22 games last season with the Mavericks and averaged 2.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.4 minutes, is expected to join the Heat’s summer league team in Las Vegas “in the next couple of days.”

Miami has very little cap space remaining now, but it still has the $4.3 million room exception and can also use minimum contracts to fill out the roster. The Heat’s other free agents are center Willie Reed, and forwards Luke Babbitt and Udonis Haslem.

Reed, who served as a quality backup to center Hassan Whiteside last season, is still available and is open to returning to the Heat. But he’s meeting with the Clippers on Friday and has received interest from the 76ers, Pacers, Rockets and Hawks, according to HoopsHype, and it’s unknown how much Miami is willing to pay Reed after drafting big man Bam Adebayo in the first round and signing Olynyk in free agency.

As for Babbitt, he’s the only incumbent free agent the Heat can exceed the $99 million salary cap to re-sign. Because the Heat acquired Babbitt in a trade last summer, they have his Bird rights and could go over the cap beyond his $1.5 million cap hold to bring him back. If the Heat need to eliminate Babbitt’s cap hold to create space, re-signing him on a veteran minimum contract worth $2 million is another realistic possibility.

If the Heat do end up re-signing Babbitt and Haslem, 12 players from last year’s season-ending roster would be back with Miami next season. The only players who wouldn’t return in that scenario would be Chris Bosh, McRoberts and Reed.

After recording a 30-11 record over the final 41 games but just missing the playoffs last season, the Heat front office is giving that roster another chance. A chance to show last season’s historic turnaround wasn’t a fluke.

“It takes more than one year to gel as a team,” Johnson said. “I think the way that coach [Erik Spoelstra] allows us to coach each other and coach ourselves through the bad and the good, confront each other, be vulnerable, enable each other to become better players and not enable each other in a bad way. That was why we gelled so quickly and were able to have a successful second half. I just think this year, we’ll just continue and we know what we want out of each other and we know we’re going to hold each other accountable. We don’t have to wait 30 or 40 games until we start doing that.”

[…] The return of Waiters, Johnson and guard Wayne Ellington means the Heat could have up to 11 players from last season’s team back on the roster. Udonis Haslem is another free agent expected to return. […]

[…] who officially signed his new deal with the Heat on Friday, is one of 10 players from last year’s season-ending roster under contract for next season. And there will likely be at least one more returnee, as veteran Udonis Haslem is expected to […]

[…] The 30-year-old forward re-signed with the Heat on a four-year deal worth $60 million that includes a player option in the fourth year. After signing his new contract, Johnson spoke to the South Florida media on a conference call Friday night. […]

[…] missing out on Gordon Hayward, the Heat found a way to sign James Johnson, Dion Waiters and Kelly Olynyk to long-term contracts and also fit Wayne Ellington’s $6.3 million salary for next season under the 2017-18 salary […]

[…] re-signing Waiters and James Johnson, and retaining Wayne Ellington last week, the Heat are bringing back most of last season’s team that recorded a 30-11 record over the fi…. With those signings, the Heat now have 10 players from last year’s season-ending roster under […]